In many instances, unearthing post-hype gold is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. As the saying goes, though, "good luck is the residue of preparation" and there are things fantasy owners can look for when identifying the next late-bloomers to break out.

There are tangible -- and sometimes obvious -- signs that indicate upcoming success. An uptick in homers or improved HR-rate hint at a player's developing power; an improved strikeout or walk rate could suggest an improved knowledge of the strike zone and corresponding ability to hit for a higher average; and a change in batted-ball trends (ground balls, line drives, fly balls) could provide valuable information regarding the progress a player is making.

Mike Moustakas (L) and Eric Hosmer (R) (AP Photo)

The numbers provide clues, but identifying a breakout player is not always a straight-forward statistical exercise. There are several players each year who find their groove seemingly out of nowhere. It's nearly impossible for fantasy owners to know all of the intangible factors influencing a player's ability to produce. The healing of an injury, the end of a distracting relationship, and countless things in between could be the key someone needs to get his career on track.

Many fantasy owners are quick to dismiss a player who doesn't meet their accelerated timetable for superstardom. You don't necessarily have to draft these late-blooming former top prospects, but exhibiting patience and keeping close tabs on them will put you in position to pounce when they do finally develop into fantasy contributors.

Meeting the hype

Chris Davis, Domonic Brown and Eric Hosmer are good examples of post-hype sleepers who broke out recently. Each is a former top prospect that developed slower than expected. Davis and Brown are particularly interesting, as baseball fans and fantasy managers were on the verge of giving up on them within the past couple of seasons.

Davis experienced a mini-breakout in 2012 when he hit .270 with 33 homers and 85 RBIs. Such a performance should have earned him more respect heading into '13, but it's difficult to earn the trust of fantasy owners who have been let down in the past.

Davis still strikes out at an alarming rate -- 29.6 percent in '13 and 30.6 percent for his career -- but that hasn't precluded him from emerging as a legitimate masher. A repeat of his 53 homers may be too much to ask, but that doesn't mean he won't be worth his price tag in 2014. His 10.7-percent walk rate is the highest he's posted in a full big-league season and offers encouragement that he could maintain a respectable batting average to go along with elite power.

Domonic Brown's breakout was even more of a surprise, as he had not shown any signs of becoming acclimated to big-league pitching. Prior to '13, Brown had a total of 12 homers in 147 major league games and was batting just .236. Brown's scouting report called for solid power, but the 27 homers arrived sooner than most people expected.

While Brown figures to be a popular mid-round selection in drafts this spring, fantasy owners should be aware of his first- and second-half splits from '13. After hitting a homer once every 15.4 at-bats prior to the All-Star break, Brown's HR-rate dropped to one every 35.25 ABs in the second half. Assuming his Achilles' injury is partially responsible for the dip in power production, fantasy owners should be able to invest with confidence this spring.

Fantasy owners weren't quite ready to give up on Eric Hosmer, but his modest production to start '13 had more than a few people enduring unhealthy levels of frustration.

There are still areas where Hosmer needs to improve before he becomes a legitimate force in fantasy leagues, most of which is the rate at which he hits ground balls. For every fly ball Hosmer hit in '13, he matched it with two balls hit on the ground. In theory, a higher rate of balls hit in the air by Hosmer, the more home runs and extra-base hits he'll deliver.

The good news for those currently invested in Hosmer is that he started hitting fewer ground balls as the season progressed. Prior to the All-Star break, he was hitting 56.4 percent of batted balls into the ground; that dropped to 47.8 percent in the second half. Hosmer's FB-rate increased in that span, 21.6 to 29.1 percent, and is a promising trend in terms of his future power production.

Here are a few post-hype sleepers who could follow a similar path as the aforementioned trio in the 2014 season (ages as of April 1, 2014; prospect rankings per Baseball America):

Matt Wieters, C, Orioles (27 years old, No. 1-overall prospect in 2009). Wieters hit a higher rate of fly balls in 2013 (43.9 percent) than he has at any point in his career, which is a good development for a power hitter.

Colby Rasmus, OF, Blue Jays (27, No. 3 in '09). Rasmus was certainly aided by a .356 BABIP last year, but he also recorded the best line-drive (22 percent) and HR (one per 18.9 ABs) rates of his career.

Cameron Maybin, OF, Padres (26, No. 8 in '09). Maybin has struggled with injuries throughout his career. Better health could allow him to move closer to his ceiling in both power and speed.